Thread: Newbie needs help

You are right about the uneven bevels. I made mistakes I corrected (not entirely) after. I thought it was the tip of the edge that mattered the most so I did not bother correcting higher up the bevel. I'll start over from 3k and make sure everything is even before going up the grits. I'll also pay closer attention to the scratches. Thanks for the good insight.

Also, I thought my entry level Dovo was a cheap razor. The grinds are uneven, the edge was not flat and I had to fix the edge at the heel on one side. The steel may be good but the craftsmanship on this particular one is far from stellar, from my knifemaker's perspective that is...

Originally Posted by criswilson10

Picking up a cheap razor to practice on would be a good idea as well.

Thank you for that.

BTW, Loves Truck Stops added a line of cheap straight razors for $12.99. They look like the new shoulder-less Gold Dollars. They come in black or white plastic scales. I bought a pair, honed them up, and they shave fine.

Originally Posted by JoelMercier

Also, I thought my entry level Dovo was a cheap razor. The grinds are uneven, the edge was not flat and I had to fix the edge at the heel on one side. The steel may be good but the craftsmanship on this particular one is far from stellar, from my knifemaker's perspective that is...

Relative to the Gold Dollar razors even the entry level Dovo is not cheap to buy. Unfortunately, the Dovos and other long standing name brand razors come from the factory all too often with unsatisfactory edges and grinds. If you buy the more expensive models you are no further ahead as the same people set the bevel and do the grinding as on the entry level models. So your knife makers perspective is on the money.

Bob

Originally Posted by BobH

Relative to the Gold Dollar razors even the entry level Dovo is not cheap to buy. Unfortunately, the Dovos and other long standing name brand razors come from the factory all too often with unsatisfactory edges and grinds. If you buy the more expensive models you are no further ahead as the same people set the bevel and do the grinding as on the entry level models. So your knife makers perspective is on the money.

Bob

Yep. Most new Dovos and TIs that I see I have to do a full bevel reset on and often have to bread knife the edge before hand to undo what they did at the factory. Apparently good grinders no longer exist in large corporations.

It’s a roll of the dice, honed a new Dovo the other day that was perfectly ground, and produced even, straight bevels that took a nice edge. It did need a fully bevel reset.

I suspect all these other Chinese razors are re-branded Gold Dollars. I have hone several, not that brand but, they will take an edge. The shoulder less grind is an improvement some of the old ones were hard, and grinding the shoulders was a bit of work, though good practice for new guys.

With a little hand sanding, regrind the heel with a nickel as a template, and the toe flat to make it a spike, re-scaled it would make a nice give away for a new shaver, a travel razor or as intended, a beater to learn to hone.

You may have to thin the spine a bit, although with that width it may hold an edge just fine.

Originally Posted by Euclid440

It’s a roll of the dice, honed a new Dovo the other day that was perfectly ground, and produced even, straight bevels that took a nice edge. It did need a fully bevel reset.

I suspect all these other Chinese razors are re-branded Gold Dollars. I have hone several, not that brand but, they will take an edge. The shoulder less grind is an improvement some of the old ones were hard, and grinding the shoulders was a bit of work, though good practice for new guys.

With a little hand sanding, regrind the heel with a nickel as a template, and the toe flat to make it a spike, re-scaled it would make a nice give away for a new shaver, a travel razor or as intended, a beater to learn to hone.

You may have to thin the spine a bit, although with that width it may hold an edge just fine.

Good advice, if you get a decent one, it’s kind if fun to fool around with. I have a number that I use to test hones, naguras, etc, maybe 10-12, and they’re showing wear over 5 years or so. I’d hate to put that wear on old vintage razors, even if user grade - they didn’t survive 80 years for me to wear them out testing slurry stones.

But the worst part of Chinese razors is the scales, not the grinding (out on a limb here!). Put a decent set of donor scales on a good example of a 208 and you’ll have a quite different razor. Image attached.

Chinese razors were never intended to be marketed in the West, but they have noticed and are sort of trying. And largely failing, lol, the scales on the ZY and W models are many times worse than on the 66, a $5 razor.

I’ll also add that if for whatever reason you’d want multiple identical (sort of, lol) razors, as in doing comparisons of stones, techniques, tape, you’d have a hard time finding a solution for $5 per razor

Yup, the scales are thick and wide at the pivot, or thin and floppy, which makes honing and especially stropping funky, but doable.

Donor scales or test bed for scale making, horn is cheap and easy to work. If you are going to the trouble to un-pin and re-pin, may as well make a decent pair of scales, even if just for practice.

I have always said the Chinese razors are “Kits” that can be made to shave and great to learn on.

This morning I tested the razor on my upper cheeks and more importantly, on my neck area. I am still very newbie at shaving and I managed to pull this off without any noticeable skin irritation. I believe it is mission accomplished. That's for all the tips guys